Craig Park set to return to bolster Cambs batting

Craig Park has been added to the Cambridgeshire line-up for tomorrow’s Unicorns Knockout Trophy, Group Two trip to Hertfordshire.

The former Cambridge Granta player has been drafted in for the match at Radlett to strengthen the batting with Alan Burton making way.

But Burton remains in the squad and could still make the team depending on how opener Ben Howgego feels as he has been struggling with a lower back problem.

Cambs go into the game having won one and lost one of their previous encounters and while another defeat would not kill off their hopes of reaching the knockout stages, captain Paul McMahon does not want to leave anything to chance.

He said: “Theoretically, we could progress as the second-placed team from a five-team group with two wins and two defeats, so losing tomorrow wouldn’t necessarily extinguish our chances.

“But it would leave our fate in the hands of other teams, so we’ll obviously be aiming to head into that last game at March knowing that a victory against Bedfordshire should take us through.”

McMahon said Cambs’ main aim would be to give themselves a strong platform with the bat to take advantage of the last 10 to 15 overs of their innings.

He said: “In both of the first two games, we’ve had one player who has really got in and been set – Rob Sayer against Norfolk, Ben Howgego against Suffolk – but we’ve failed to bat sufficiently well around them.”

McMahon added an element of gaining revenge came into it as well, having been knocked out by Herts last year.

“We’ve had a couple of defeats against Herts in the Trophy over the last three years,” he said.

“The quarter-final last year was an outstanding game of cricket.

“But we lost off the last ball with them nine wickets down, so hopefully we can manage to get ourselves over the line this year.”